Learning Materials
Features
Discover
When we create sentences in English, different elements are needed to form a complete sentence. Every sentence must contain a subject and a verb - otherwise, it would be incomplete!
Millions of flashcards designed to help you ace your studies
Sign up for freeIs there an object in the following sentence?'He ate too much'
Is there an object in the following sentence?'They opened the box'
Is there an object in the following sentence?'We fell asleep quickly'
True or false?Objects are always needed in a sentence.
Sentences written using the active voice follow which structure?
Which of the following is not always a necessary part of a sentence?
Is there an object in the following sentence?'He ate too much'
Is there an object in the following sentence?'They opened the box'
Is there an object in the following sentence?'We fell asleep quickly'
True or false?Objects are always needed in a sentence.
Sentences written using the active voice follow which structure?
Which of the following is not always a necessary part of a sentence?
Achieve better grades quicker with Premium
Geld-zurück-Garantie, wenn du durch die Prüfung fällst
Review generated flashcards
Start learning or create your own AI flashcards
Team Object category Teachers
The term subject refers to the person, animal, place, or thing that performs the action of a verb or is directly linked to a verb. For example, in the sentence "She played tennis," the subject is 'she.'
Sentences without a subject and a verb are called 'fragments.'
Although it is not always necessary, some sentences also contain an object. This article will explore what an object is, the different types of objects, and some examples. It will also consider the difference between objects and subjects.
In English grammar, an object refers to the noun, pronoun, or noun phrase affected by the action of a verb. For example, in the sentence "I fixed my shoes," the object is 'my shoes.'
Objects appear in both grammatical voices in English, i.e., active and passive.
Sentences written in the active voice contain a subject (a person, animal, place, or thing) actively performing the verb. These sentences tell us what the subject is doing. Active sentences typically follow this structure: subject ---> verb ---> object (SVO). This means the object comes last, for example:
Fig. 1 - The object comes last in a sentence written in the active voice.
On the other hand, with sentences written in the passive voice, the object (the person, animal, place, or thing affected by an action) assumes the position of the subject. These sentences tell us what is being done to something or someone. For example:
Fig. 2 - The object acts as a subject in sentences written in the passive voice.
In passive sentences, the focus is on the receiver of the action (the letter) instead of the person doing the action (Tom).
There are three types of objects:
1. Direct objects
2. Indirect objects
3. Objects of a preposition
Let's take a look at each of these in more detail:
Direct objects are the person, animal, place, or thing directly affected by the verb's action. For example:
I drink water.
Here, 'water' is the object as it is affected by the action of drinking.
In this sentence, the verb 'drank' can be referred to as a transitive verb. Let's look at this in more detail below:
It is important to know about transitive and intransitive verbs as they are both used for different reasons:
Transitive verbs are verbs that must act upon an object. Without an object, the sentence will not make sense.
Take the sentence 'Georgia picks a flower.'
The verb 'picks' is transitive as it must have an object (a flower) to make sense. Without the object, the sentence would be 'Georgia picks.' It is unclear what this means - what does Georgia pick?
Intransitive verbs are verbs that do not need to act upon an object for the sentence to make sense.
Take the sentence 'You've grown a lot!'
The verb 'grown' is intransitive as it does not need an object for the sentence to still make sense. This sentence does not contain an object, instead the adverb 'a lot' comes after the verb.
Some verbs can be either transitive or intransitive depending on what comes after them. For example:
The verb 'read' is transitive in the sentence 'I read a book', whereas it is intransitive in the sentence 'I read often.'
Indirect objects are the person or thing that receives the direct object. This means that indirect objects can only be found in sentences with direct objects. They are usually placed between the action verb and the direct object. For example:
He showed me the view.
The indirect object is 'me' as it is the receiver of the direct object (the view).
The owner gave the bone to the dog.
The indirect object is 'the dog' as it is given the direct object (the bone).
Sally bought her daughter a present.
The indirect object is 'her daughter' as she is the one that receives the direct object (a present).
We will now take a look at some different ways to create indirect objects. There are three ways to create indirect objects:
1. Using one word (a noun or pronoun)
"Sarah gave him chocolate."
Here, the pronoun 'him' is the indirect object, as it is the receiver of the direct object (chocolate).
2. Using two or more words (e.g., article + noun, adjective + noun)
"I gave the kind nurse a hug."
Here, the indirect object is made up of the definite article 'the', the adjective 'kind', and the noun 'nurse.'
3. Using a prepositional phrase (a group of words consisting of a preposition, an object, and/or any modifiers).
"She gave the letter to her friend."
Here, the indirect object is 'her friend', and is written in the form of a prepositional phrase that begins with the preposition 'to.'
Objects of a preposition refer to a noun or pronoun that comes after a preposition. These objects receive the action of a verb but need a preposition for the sentence to make sense.
A preposition is a word or group of words that come before a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase. It shows time, place, direction, location, etc. For example, words such as on, in, at, to, and of are prepositions.
An example of an object of a preposition is:
Thomas placed the apple in the box.
Here, the object is 'the box' as it comes after the preposition 'in.'
He left after lunch.
Here, the object is 'lunch' as it comes after the preposition 'after.'Below are some examples of direct objects in sentences (using both active and passive voices). The objects are in bold:
| Sentence (active voice) | Sentence (passive voice) |
| I ate the bread. | The bread was eaten by me. |
| The teacher teaches the students. | The students are taught by the teacher. |
| Felix drove his car. | The car was driven by Felix. |
| The snake bit the dog. | The dog was bitten by the snake. |
| I wrote five essays. | Five essays were written by me. |
| She reveals a secret. | A secret is revealed by her. |
| George wins the trophy. | The trophy is won by George. |
| I will collect your ticket. | Your ticket will be collected by me. |
| Marie will not read the poem. | The poem will not be read by Marie. |
Below are some examples of sentences that include both direct and indirect objects. The direct objects are in blue, and the indirect objects are in pink:
| Sentences with direct and indirect objects |
| Freddie gave me his jacket. |
| I gave my friends cake. |
| Kelly passed the pen to John. |
| Can you sing us a song? |
| Please pass me the salt. |
| Don't sell that book to him. |
| Mark bought gifts for his parents. |
| Donna took Jimmy to see a theatre show. |
| Alfie surprised her with a new car. |
As not every sentence contains them, here are some examples of sentences without objects:
| Sentences without objects |
| You can come in. |
| They go well together. |
| Mistakes will be made. |
| We cried. |
| The window opened slowly. |
| The movie will begin shortly. |
| The computer does not work. |
| The temperature is increasing. |
| They should leave. |
Remember - when a verb is used with an object, it is called 'transitive,' but when it is used without an object, it is called 'intransitive.'
An object refers to the person or thing that receives the verb's action. On the other hand, the subject refers to the person or thing doing the action. In a sentence with an active voice, the subject goes first, followed by the verb, and finally the object. For example:
| Subject | Verb | Object |
| I | took | a photo. |
In a sentence with a passive voice, the object acts as the subject, so it comes first, whereas the actual subject comes last. For example, instead of writing, "I took a photo," the passive voice would be "a photo was taken by me."
A subject is always needed to create a complete sentence, along with a verb. But, objects are not always needed in a sentence.
Sign up for free to gain access to all our flashcards.
What are the types of objects in English grammar?
The types of objects in English grammar are:
1. Direct object
2. Indirect object
3. Object of a preposition
What are the 5 categories in English?
The five lexical categories in English are: noun, verb, adjective, adverb and preposition.
How do you identify an object in a sentence?
You can find the (direct) object in a sentence by answering the question 'what?' or 'who?' about the verb.
What are objects in English?
An object refers to a noun, a pronoun, or a noun phrase that is affected by the action of a verb.
What are objects examples?
Take the sentence:
'Tom took a photo.'
The object is 'photo' as it is affected by the verb 'took.'
At StudySmarter, we have created a learning platform that serves millions of students. Meet the people who work hard to deliver fact based content as well as making sure it is verified.
Lily Hulatt is a Digital Content Specialist with over three years of experience in content strategy and curriculum design. She gained her PhD in English Literature from Durham University in 2022, taught in Durham University’s English Studies Department, and has contributed to a number of publications. Lily specialises in English Literature, English Language, History, and Philosophy.
Get to know Lily
Gabriel Freitas is an AI Engineer with a solid experience in software development, machine learning algorithms, and generative AI, including large language models’ (LLMs) applications. Graduated in Electrical Engineering at the University of São Paulo, he is currently pursuing an MSc in Computer Engineering at the University of Campinas, specializing in machine learning topics. Gabriel has a strong background in software engineering and has worked on projects involving computer vision, embedded AI, and LLM applications.
Get to know Gabriel
Explanations 
Flashcards 
StudySmarter AI 
Notes 
Study Plans 
Study Sets 
Exams 
Find a job 
Student Deals 
Magazine 
Mobile App